Fountain toothbrush



Aug- 26, 1941 v lT. w. FISHER 2,253,514

FOUNTAIN TOOTHBRUSH Filed June 12, 1940 wrmssj A ATTORNEYS Patented Aug.26, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,253,514 f'Y FOUNTAIN'.roo'rHBRUsH Thomas W. Fisher, Columbus Grove, Ohio Appli/cation .rune12, 1940, serial Nn. 340,180

s ciaims. (o1. 132-84) This invention relates to fountain toothbrushes,and its general object is to provide a toothbrush with means carriedthereby for not only dispensing and spreading dentifrice on the bristlesthereof, in measured quantities, but also for completely housing thebristles, when the brush is not in use, so that to retain the same freefrom dirt, dust and foreign matter, and consequently' in a clean andsanitary condition.

A further object is to provide a toothbrush with dentifrice dispensingand bristle housing means that is slidably mounted on the handle andhead of the brush for disposal into and out of use, and said means canbe operated accordingly as well as into and out of dispensing positionin an easy and expeditious manner Another object is to provide atoothbrush with dentifrice dispensing means that can be readily filledand is capable of dispensing either powder or liquid throughout theentire tooth engaging surface of the bristles. y

A still further object is tov provide a fountain toothbrush of thecharacter set forth, that is simple inA construction, inexpensive tomanufacture and extremely efficient in operation, use and service. f f

This invention-also consists in certain other features of constructionand in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to behereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing andspecifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to theaccompanying drawing wherein` like lcharacters denote like orcorresponding parts throughout the several Views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side View partly in section of the toothbrush, with thedispensing and bristle housing means in position for use and with thedispensing means in normal position.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional View takenthrough the dispensing and housing means with the dispensing means in`operative position for applyingdentifrices to the Y bristles. Y

Figure Sis a fragmentary side View partly in section, with thedispensing and housing means moved out of enclosing position withrespect to the bristles and illustrates the action of the closure of thehousing for spreading the dentifrice upon the bristles.

Figure 4 is a side elevation illustrating the dispensing and housingmeans moved to a position outofuse. i

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken approximately on line 5-5 of Figure1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 6 is a sectional View taken approximately on line 6--6 of Figure1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken approximately on line 1-1 of Figure1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary top plan View with the dispensing and housingmeans arranged in the position of Figure 4.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary detail sectional view illustrating the springcam latching means for holding the door in open or closed position, andwith the door in closed position.

Figure 10 is a similar view with the door in open position.

Figure 11 is a similar View with the door removed.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the reference numeral l indicatesthe handle of my brush and 2 the head thereof, which is arranged inaxial alignment with the handle, and both the handle and head arerelatively flat and are shown as being of the same thickness throughouttheir length, as well as provided with longitudinally disposed grooves 3in the sides thereof, with the grooves terminating adjacent to theirouter ends, as clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3. The head v2 has securedthereto in the usual manner, a plurality of tufts of bristles 4,

The dispensing and housing means or device includes a dentifricereceiving container portion 5 at one end, and formed on or otherwisesecured to and extending forwardly from the container is an elongatedhousing portion 6 of a length greater than that of the longitudinal rowsof bristles to completely cover the same when the device isin positionfor use, as best shown in Figure 1. Formed on and extending along thelower edges of the sides of the device are inturned flanges mounted inthe grooves 3 for slidable movement o-f the device throughout the lengthof the grooves, so that the device can be moved to its position for useas shown in Figure 1, or to the position of Figure 4, and when in its.latter position will not interfere with the free use of the brush forcleaning teeth, as will be apparent.

The container .portion includes a bottom wall that is seated upon thehandle anda substantially cylindrical vertical wall 8, as well as a flattop Wall 9, the latter having a threaded opening therein for receivingthe shank of a screw cap l0 and the opening is of course for the purposeof lling the container portion with dentifrice, which may be eitherpowder or liquid.

The housing portion 6 includes flat side walls II, an open bottom closedby the brush head or handle, and the flat side walls merge into arounded top Wall, as best shown in Figure 5. The inner end of thehousing portion is closed by the wall 8 of the container portion and theopposite or outer end is partially closed by an enlarged wall I2 formedon the side and top walls, While the remaining portion of the outer endis open, but is normally closed by a hinged closure or door I3 having aslot I 4 extending transversely thereof and of a size to receive theouter end of the head 2 therethrough, for normally holdingY the devicewith the housing portion thereof aboutv the bristles, as clearly shownin Figure 1. By that construction, it will be obvious that the housingportion including the closure or doo-r I3 completely encloses thebristles when the device is in the position of Figure 1, and therebyretains the same free from dirt, dust and foreign matter, andconsequently in a clean and sanitary condition.

Mounted for rotation in the housing portion and for fitting associationwithin a channel formed longitudinally in the top wall thereof is asubstantially cylindrical dispensing member I5 having a dentifricereceiving groove It extending therein throughout its length, and thecylindrical member I5 is held Within its channel by a screw bolt I'I andan operating member I3, the latter including a shank extending into oneend of the cylindrical member and through the wall portion I2 and isprovided With a serrated head It. The shank is fixed within thecylindrical member by a set screw 20 and the screw bolt extends throughthe vertical wall 8 for disposal of its head Within the containerportion and with its shank threaded within the opposite end of thecylindrical meinber. Mounted on the shank of the screw bolt is a diskvalve 2l having an eccentrically disposed opening 22 for arrangement inregistration with an opening 23 in the vertical Wall, as Well as withthe dentifrice receiving groove I5, as clearly shown in Figure 1.

Suitable gasket means is provided for the disk valve to prevent leakageabout the same in the event liquid dentifrices are used, and in order tofacilitate application and removal of the disk valve 2I as well as thescrew bolt, I provide an opening in the container portion, that isclosed by a plug 24.

The hinge means for the door I3 includes a pair of spaced parallelapertured ears 25 formed on the wall portion I2 and formed on the dooris a hinge barrel 28 disposed between the ears for registration of thebore of the hinge barrel with the apertures of the ears fo-r receivingahinge pin 21. The ears each have a projection 28 formed thereon toprovide a cam surface and the ears above and below the projections areprovided with flat faces 29 yand 30 for receiving the free ends of asp-ring strip 3| that is fixed to the hinge barrel, as best shown inFigure 6. By that construction, it will be obvious that when the hingestrip is engaged with the flat faces Sii, the door is held in closedposition, as shown in Figure 9, and when engaged with the flat faces 29,the door is held in open position, as shown in Figures 3 and 10. Whenthe door is in its open position, the free end thereof is held slightlyabove the top of the bristles, so that upon rearward movement of thedevice along the handle,

the free end of the door will spread the dentifrice across and along the-rows of bristles as clearly shown in Figure 3.

From the above description and disclosure of the drawing, it is believedthat the operation will be obvious, but it might be mentioned that Whenit is desired to use the brush, and assuming of course that the deviceis in the position of Figure 1, the brush is tilted for the disposal ofSome of the dentifrice from the container into the groove I6 of thecylindrical dispensing member I5, thence the latter is rotated throughthe Vmedium of the head I9 from the position of Figure 1 to that ofFigure 2, so that the dentifrice willdrop by gravity from the grooveonto the bristles. The door I3 is then released from the brush head Vandmoved to its open position, and the device is then moved rearwardly onthe handle to the position of Figure 4.

` It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages andnovel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction andin the combination and arrangement. of the several parts, provided thatsuch changes fiall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A fountain toothbrush comprising a handle, a brush head formed on thehandle, a dentifrice container mounted for movement on the handle, ahousing for the bristles of the head and carried by the container fordisposal into 'and out of enclosing position with respect to thebristles, and means for receiving and dispensing the dentifrice from thecontainer and upon the bristles.

r2. A fountain toothbrush comprising a handle, a brush head formed onthe handle, a dentifrice container mounted fo-r movement on the handle,a housing for the bristles of the head and carried by the container fordisposal into and out of enclosing position Withv respect to thebristles, means for receiving and ldispensing the dentifrice from thecontainer and upon the bristles, and means for spreading the dentifricealong the bristles as the housing is moved out of enclosing position.

3. A fountain toothbrush comprising a handle, a brush head formed on thehandle, a dentifrice container mounted for movement on the handle, ahousing for the bristles of the head and carried by the container fordisposal into and out of enclosing position With respect to thebristles, means for dispensing the dentifrice from the container uponthe bristles and including a cylinder having a longitudinally disposedgroove therein for receiving the dentifrice from the container, andmeans for rotating the cylinder into and out of dispensing position.

4. A fountain toothbrush comprising ya handle, a b-rush hea-d formed onthe handle, a dentifrice container mounted for movement on the handle, ahousing for the bristles of the head and car- Aried by the container fordisposal into and out of enclosing position with respect to thebristles, means f or dispensing the dentifrice from the container uponthe bristles and including a cylinder having a longitudinally disposedgroove therein for receiving the dentifrice from the container, meansfor rotating the cylinder into and out of dispensing position, closuremeans for the housing and associated With the head for holding thehousing in enclosing position, and said closure means being associatedWith the housing for spreading the dentifrice upon the bristles as thehousing is moved out of enclosing position.

5. A fountain toothbrush comprising a handle, a brush head formed on thehandle, a dentifrice container mounted for movement on the handle, ahousing for the bristles of the head and carried by the container fordisposal into and out of enclosing position with respect to thebristles, means for dispensing the dentifrice from the container uponthe bristles and including a cylinder having a longitudinally disposedgroove therein for receiving the dentifrice from the container, saidcylinder being mounted for rotation Within the housing, valve meansWithin the container for controlling the passage of the dentifricetherefrom and carried by the cylinder for rotation therewith, means forrotating the cylinder into and out of dispensing position, closure meansfor the housing and associated with the head for holding the housing inenclosing position, latching means for holding the closure means ineither open or closed positions, and said closure means being arrangedwhen in open position for spreading the dentifrice upon the bristleswhen the housing is moved out of enclosing position.

6. A fountain toothbrush comprising a handle, a head formed on thehandle, said handle and head having longitudinally disposed grooves inthe sides thereof and terminating adjacent their outer ends, adentifrice container, a housing for the bristles of the head and forme-don the container, flanges formed on the container and housing andslidably mounted in the grooves for disposal of the housing into and outof enclosing position with respect to the bristles, means for dispensingthe dentifrice from the container upon the bristles and including acylinder having a longitudinally disposed groove therein for receivingthe dentifrice from the container, said cylinder being mounted forrotation Within the housing, valve means connected to the cylinder forrotation therewith and for controlling the passage of the dentifricefrom the container, handled means for rotating the cylinder into Iandout of dispensing position, said housing having an open outer` end, adoor for closing said end and hinged to the housing, said door having aslot therein for receiving the head to hold the housing in enclosingposition, spring and cam llatching means included in the hinge of the`door for holding the latter in open or closed positions, and said doorbeing arranged when in open position with its free end elevated abovethe bristles for spreading the dentifrice along the same.

THOMAS W. FISI-IER.

